Sunday, July 14, 2013

Sunday Smorgasbord!

With it being the middle of July and all, I figured it was only appropriate to link up with Fabulous in First's Sunday Smorgasbord post. My brain is all kinds of scattered right now as this post is about to prove. This little fiasco will explain why I am linking up with Sunday Smorgasbord. It's been a smorgasbord of paper lanterns kinda week. So here goes...

The Things a Teacher Will Do....for paper lanterns.

Yes, it's true. I admit it. Teachers are a bit crazy at times. Especially when it comes to classroom decor. Yes, yes, I did drive two hours just to get the perfectly colored paper lanterns to hang in my classroom {GASP!}. AND my hubby drove me there {WHAT?!}. Yes, it happened and I am NOT ashamed. Nope, not one bit. Here's the story....

First, I drive to the Parent-Teacher Store in my town. Well, guess what? They were ALL OUT! The ones they had were out-of-stock, but were PERFECTION I tell ya. I needed those paper lanterns! I MUST find those paper lanterns.

Plan B: Party One Superstore. They will definitely have paper lanterns. They did have paper lanterns, but they were red and navy blue, which would look crazy ridiculous in a classroom of black and brights. Moving on...

Next, I move to Plan C. I drive to The Dollar Tree (my all-time fave teacher bin and bucket store). Wowie, they had paper lanterns AND with a AAA battery, they even lit up! Holla! Well, I get excited and buy 9 of those bad boys (they were only $1 each). I bought three colors lime green, bright blue, and.....wait for it....purple! I know, I know, not what I had in mind. Definitely NOT hot pink, but it would tie in with the purple baskets in my room, so why not?! They would suffice....or so I thought.

Well, I get them home and YUCK, they are just NOT the right color purple and they're certainly not hot pink....

On to Plan D. I know who will have some awesome paper lanterns - Dollar General! I saw them there last week! So I walk in, ask the lady if she had any paper lanterns in lime green, hot pink, and bright blue, she looked at me like I was a lunatic, and then showed me where the paper lanterns were...or at least what they had left. That was NOT a good sign. I found ONE, I repeat, ONE paper lantern in a bright blue that would go perfect, but nothing else. No bright pink at Dollar General AT ALL (they didn't even make them), only bright blue and a dark blue (at another DG location). I pick up the bright blue, fight back a few tears (kidding...kind of), and purchase the one paper lantern and some brightly colored cups to match my classroom to make me feel better. The bright blue lantern was a little more plump, nicer looking, had a light inside, but what can you do with ONE bright blue lantern. Do I go track down 8 more at the DG stores in my town? Then, what am I gonna do with ALL bright blue paper lanterns? How boring! Ugh. I NEED lime green and pink...

At this point, as any teacher would, I am ready to throw something! The colors in the cups above are my classroom colors and I can't find paper lanterns to match my colors ANYWHERE! AND the ones I have will require like 378,389 AAA batteries throughout the year. I am picturing myself standing on a ladder at the end of every day to turn them off and replacing batteries as needed. The more I think about it, the more desperate I become. I do NOT want light-up paper lanterns. Even if I leave the lights off, I still don't have HOT PINK!

So I am on to Plan.....hmm...what am I on now Plan Z? That's what it feels like. I think this is Plan E. I do the unthinkable. I googled it: Parent-Teacher Store. The nearest Parent-Teacher Store is one hour away. But the big question is...will they have my paper lanterns?? So I press the Call Us button on my iPhone, take a deep breath, and ask the sweet sales lady if she had what I was looking for. You'll never guess what she said, "YES!" Well do you know what I told that sales lady? I told her to hold every single one of them , because I'll be there in one hour to get them! And off I went! I drove 2 hours round trip to get my paper lanterns. I bought 5 packs (3 per pack) so I have 15 paper lanterns! WAY too many, but goodness! Through all that trouble, I went ahead and stocked up for years to come!

Hot Pink, Lime Green, and Bright Blue....ahhhh! Was it worth it? Absolutely! Am I a little crazy? Perhaps. But I'm so excited to hang my perfectly-matched paper lanterns in my classroom now! EEK! Come on now, tell me you haven't done something similar?! Or at least lie and make me feel better - ha! You can head on over and talk about your random happenings at Fabulous in First or leave a comment below to make me feel better! :)

You are so funny Jamie! :) I've done the same thing!!! I've been known to take numerous (as in 6) trips to Lakeshore in one day to get my classroom lookin' just right! ;-) Can't wait to see pics of the lanterns in your classroom! :)

So...do these lanterns light up? I have seen a few in classrooms at our school, but the fire marshall is so diligent here that I am surprised. I was excited to find beanbags at Aldi's yesterday with the correct fire code tags. Yeah! :)

I definitely did something similar for self serve lamination at $0.19 a foot! I used to have a store around the corner, then I moved and the closest store that offered it was an hour an a half away. Only thing near me was $1.25 a foot and not self serve.... totally worth the drive regardless of how crazy the store clerk thought I was :)

That is too funny! I want red paper lanterns to match my red chevron themed classroom and Oriental trading is all out. I haven't been out to stores yet to check, but if I can't find any I plan on buying red tissue paper and making some of my own. Can't wait to see pics of you classroom with your lanterns.

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